What is Immunotherapy?

Immunotherapy is a type of cancer treatment used to generate, boost, and control immune responses with cancer cells. Immunotherapy unmasks disguised tumor cells and makes them a threat to the immune system. This therapy uses the body’s immune system to attack the existing threat of cancer.

Immunotherapy is not nearly as damaging as other therapies. In comparison to chemotherapy, immunotherapy kills only cancer cells, and not a whole region of healthy and cancerous cells. Chemotherapy also has a potential for second cancers to grow. The most common second cancer to come from chemotherapy are acute myelogenous leukemia and myelodysplastic syndrome. This is a dangerous route of therapy for children, as leukemia is the most common child cancer. Immunotherapy is used as a preventative from cancer recurring, and is less probable to second cancers. Immunotherapy is also not as hard on the body as radiation.